Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding.

I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... It was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.

Thinking of visiting Oxford?

Allow me to be your guide... and discover the history of Oxford with an Oxford historian.

I offer a wide range of guided walks around the city and university. These can be a general introduction to the history and architecture or looking at specific themes and subjects.

About Me

I am a Catholic and a historian based in Oxford, where I am a member of Oriel College. My research, for a long delayed D.Phil., is a study of Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln in the second decade of the fifteenth century. I also work as a freelance tutor in History and as an independent tour guide.
I was received into the Church in 2005 and am a Brother of the External Oratory of St Philip Neri at the Oxford Oratory.

He had already fled from Constance, seeking thereby not only his own liberty but perhaps to thereby invalidate the Council. In both he was uncuccessful.

During his absence John was deposed by the Council, and upon his return
he was tried for heresy, simony, schism and immorality, and found guilty
on all counts. Gibbon
As Edward Gibbon, with typical Enlightenment cynicism, famously wrote, "The more scandalous charges were suppressed; the Vicar of
Christ was accused only of piracy, rape, sodomy, murder and incest."

The following paragraphs are adapted from an internet source:

Following this the ex-Pope, once more Baldessare Cossa, was promptly imprisoned in Germany and was just as quickly ransomed
by his friend Giovanni di Bici di Medici of Florence. Powerful, cunning
men often attract the interest and friendships of other powerful and
cunning men and the father of the Medici fortune had become a friend of
Baldassare during the young man’s time in Bologna.
Giovanni di Bici di Medici had an eye for making money and Baldassare
had a perpetual love and need of it. Bici must have seen the path that
Baldassare was forging for himself, often with brute force, and a
friendship evolved. As a supporter of Baldassare, Bici had loaned his
money in an astute way at an important point in the career of the future Pope John XXIII
and his reward from his friend in 1413 was for the Medici Bank to obtain
the Curia account - a near monopoly of the bank account of the Papal Estates. It
was a piece of business genius that laid the foundation for the wealth
and power of the Medici in Florence that lasted almost 300 years.

The
only tomb in the magnificent Baptistery in Florence is that of
Baldassare Cossa. It was commissioned by the executors of his will after his
death on December 22, 1419 and completed during the 1420s. The cost of
this tomb was reputed to be 800 Florins - at a time when a rich man
could build an entire palazzo in Florence for 1,000 Florins. The tomb
was paid forby the Medici’s to say express their gratitude;
engaging the great Donatello who sculptured the figure of Baldassare
whilst Michelozzo created the surrounding drapery and tabernacle. It is a
masterpiece in its own right, which outraged Pope Martin V who
protested in vain against the inscription on the sarcophagus: "John the former Pope".